WHERE'S THE BIND?:

FEC puts Obama in a bind (KENNETH P. VOGEL, 10/28/09, Politico)

The ruling has presented the Obama administration with a tough choice: either go over the FEC’s head to appeal the ruling, which some experts caution could result in even wider money-in-politics loopholes, or let the decision stand in hopes of closing the new loophole in another case.

Letting it stand would draw the ire of Obama’s allies in the watchdog community, who are urging his administration to appeal the case, in which the Democratic powerhouse EMILY’s List successfully challenged FEC fundraising and spending limits as unconstitutional and over-reaching.

The watchdogs had high hopes for Obama, who has long cast himself as committed to reducing the power of special interest cash in politics, but are growing impatient with his perceived unwillingness to bolster campaign finance rules that have been diluted by a skeptical judiciary and divided FEC.

Is there any issue on which the UR has struggled with the choice between political expediency that serves him and ideology that serves his supporters?

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 29, 2009 6:00 AM